This invention relates to a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material and, more particularly, to a light-sensitive material in which the latent image decay is improved and the pressure resistance is excellent in a moist atmosphere.
The progress of silver halide emulsion technology and the developments of various photographic raw materials have between them increased by leaps and bounds the sensitivity of light-sensitive materials. However, as the sensitivity is increased, it has brought out new problems.
One of the new problems is a light-sensitive fog caused by an infra-red sensitive sensor (hereinafter called an infrared sensor fog) having very often been used in recent years in a production process or in an automated process such as those for the printers, processors and the like of light-sensitive materials.
The emission spectral wavelengths of the above-mentioned infrared sensitive sensors are, for example, 900 to 950 nm in the typical Ga-As liquid phased epitaxial type infrared emission diodes, about 1140 nm in the similar ones using Si, and about 1880 nm in the similar ones using Ge, though the wavelengths are varied in various ranges according to the light emitting members.
The above-mentioned infrared sensor fog tends to be displayed more in red light-sensitive dyes because of its spectral absorption characteristics. To avoid this tendency, there have been many studies on the application of filter-dyestuffs of antifoggants, and on the arrangements of light-sensitive material layers. There have, however, been none of good results as yet.
Another one of the new problems is pressure marks. Generally, light-sensitive materials are applied by various pressures. Such pressures are usually applied thereto when the sensitive-material is being manufactured (i.e., in its cutting or splitting process), when it is being used (i.e., pressures applied thereto in a camera body, or a bend caused by hand of a photographer), when it is being processed (i.e., its transport through an automatic processor) and in the like case.
When various pressures are applied to a light-sensitive material as mentioned above, the silver halide particles of the light-sensitive material are also applied with pressure through gelatin which is the binder, so that the so-called pressure mark phenomenon (a pressure desensitization in some case) is to be produced.
This phenomenon has so far been well-known as a photographic pressure effect. There are the description thereof in the literatures such as T. H. James, `The Theory of the Photographic Process`, 4th Ed., by MacMillan Publishing Co., New York, p. 24; and D. Dautrich, F. Granzer and E. Moiser, `J. Phot. Sci.`, 21 p. 221, 1973. And, it is well-known in the art that the larger the particle size of a high speed silver halide are, the easier the pressure fog and the pressure desensitization are produced, because such particles are sensitive to pressure.
There are two cases that a light-sensitive material is applied with a pressure in a dry state in one case, and it is applied with a pressure in a wet state where a development is being processed in the other case. The pressure resistance of the light-sensitive material is desirably improved in the above-mentioned two cases.
There have been the attempts for providing light-sensitive materials which are less effected by pressure. For example, the technique for improving the pressure resistance of silver halide emulsions have been disclosed in Japanese Patent Open to Public Inspection (hereinafter called Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication) No. 13923/1982 in which a coupler containing layer contains a high boiling solvent in an amount of not less than 20% by weight of the binders thereof; in Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 12133/1980 in which describes the technique of lowering a pressure by containing polyol; in Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 36978/1975 in which couplers and a conversion emulsion are used; and in Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication No. 149933/1980 in which epitaxial silver halide particles are used. In the above-mentioned technique, however, any satisfactory effects have not been obtained in both of a dry state and a moist state, that is, how things stand at present.
Japanese Patent Application No. 60421 describes that a certain kind of red light-sensitive sensitizing dyes and a chlorotriazine compound are used in combination so as to reduce the above-mentioned infrared sensor fog. It was however proved that the above-mentioned combination has the other disadvantages that the combination cannot display any effect on the pressure resistance in a moist state and has a latent image decay (i.e., a phenomenon that the latent image of an imagewise exposed light-sensitive material is decayed with the passage of time.).